Mercy Corps - Driven to leave: Aid & Migration

September 2018

Drawing from two countries of origin - Afghanistan and Somalia - these papers test assumptions about the ‘root causes’ of and ‘solutions’ to migration. The study tests economic and non-economic hypotheses from a ‘country of origin’ perspective and assesses what individual decisions leading to economic migration are made of. Our research reveals that economic factors, such as employment, have a complicated relationship with migration intentions. As a result, programs that focus singularly on economic development initiatives are likely to be ineffective at addressing the root causes of migration. Evidence from this study suggests that underlying many young people’s decisions to migrate are concerns about security and exposure to violence, signaling the need for more efforts focused on creating stable, peaceful, and safe conditions for youth in their home countries.

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